Am I over reacting?

[EZFrag]

ok, I'm new to home brewing. I have finished 4 kits. First kit was an IPA from Austin Homebrew. Second kit was a Wheat Ale from Northern Brewers. Ok, had no problems, liked both brews. Then I bought a light lager kit from Austin, had it fermented and in the keg conditioning, then bought a blonde ale from Austin.

I followed the directions, but after it finished fermenting and conditioning, it had a strong sulfur smell and taste. I made a post here on homebrew talk and consensus is that I fermented at too high a temperature, even though I was fermenting at the temp that came on the instructions.

The blonde kit I bought, I bought as an internet order. So I didn't talk to anyone there. When I opened the kit after delivery to put the yeast in the fridge, I noticed it was shipped without a cold pack. From Austin, TX to Monroe, LA, in the summer time. I kind of figured that was wrong. I called Austin Homebrew and talked with a guy named Phil. I was thinking if the heat killed some of my yeast, my results would not be good with this kit. Phil assured me that I was good to go. Even though I would have much rather bought a 5 dollar vile of yeast, he assured me that it was good, go ahead and brew. Well guess what? Final gravity was 1.004. When I called them and talked with someone else, I gotta "Opps, sorry. Yeah, you can drink that if you want to." So, now I'm out the whole cost of the kit, plus the time and effort of brewing and fermenting.

So, am I wrong to be perturbed at Austin Homebrew enough not to use them anymore, or am I just a noob who needs to just bend over and take it?

 

[teresalgl]

What's wrong with a FG of 1.004? My FG for sessions is usually 1.010.

 

[stubbornman]

Final gravity at 1.004 is not a horrible thing? What was your OG? What temps did you ferment at?

I would be more worried about the lager... What temps/yeast/starter did you use for that bad boy?

I'm not sure how Austin Homebrew does, but with most places if you want an icepack for your yeast you buy them for like $1 extra.

I wouldn't be upset with Austin homebrew, I would look into making starters.

 

[EZFrag]

FG is way too low. I don't have the sheet with me. But fermentation ended way too early.

 

[TopherM]

Final gravity was 1.004? Sounds perfect to me...what's the problem? Do you mean that the final gravity was 1.04? Even at that, it wouldn't ruin the batch, you would just need to repitch new yeast. You shouldn't have been out any time or money on this batch just because you had bad yeast.

Fermentation finishing too fast is not a sign of bad yeast, it is a sign of very viable BAD-ASS yeast. If the fermentation went too fast, this is more of a symptom of fermenting in a room with a high ambient temp, not a problem with the yeast. Dead yeast don't ferment anything, let alone somehow ferment faster and dryer.

Yeast are viable up to about 120 degrees, where they start to die off, but they do not instantly die until about 140 degrees.

Did you ORDER and pay for the cold pack? It is an add-on from AHS, they don't automatically give it to you. They are typically VERY good about correcting mistakes they make, so if they left out a cold pack that you ordered, I'd imagine they'd express ship you some new yeast.

In the future, order dry yeast in the summer months. 90% of the time, there is a comparable dry yeast to whatever liquid yeast is recommended, and dry yeast is every bit as good as liquid yeast.

Sorry dude, your story above isn't adding up on multiple fronts. Sound more like user error from lack of knowledge to me. Austin Homebrew didn't do anything wrong. I'm not sure you know what you are doing, there was nothing wrong with your yeast or this batch.

 

[EZFrag]

Final gravity at 1.004 is not a horrible thing? What was your OG? What temps did you ferment at?

I would be more worried about the lager... What temps/yeast/starter did you use for that bad boy?

I'm not sure how Austin Homebrew does, but with most places if you want an icepack for your yeast you buy them for like $1 extra.

I wouldn't be upset with Austin homebrew, I would look into making starters.

The yeast name had dry yeast in it. Being a noob, I thought it was like the dry yeast in the store. I didn't realize it was one in a vile, or I would have sprung for the cold pack. Still, I when called, I would have gladly bought a new vile if I hadn't been reassured from Phil. Again, your advice in your post is why I decided to post here. I want to make sure I wasn't overreacting. By the reactions here, it seems that I am.

 

[stubbornman]

FG is way too low. I don't have the sheet with me. But fermentation ended way too early.

If fermentation ended early your final gravity would be too high bro.

For instance, if your OG was 1.060 and FG was 1.028 then your fermentation stopped early. FG of 1.004 is nice and dry. I'm going to guess it was Dry English Ale yeast (liquid version)?

 

[azscoob]

FG is way too low. I don't have the sheet with me. But fermentation ended way too early.

The FG being low meant it fermented out almost completely, if it ended too early it would be higher.

I would think that if it got to that FG really fast, your temps were too high and you experienced some runaway fermentation.

The sulphur smell is normal for some yeasts, to keep it to a low level, I try to ferment at the low end of fermentation specs.

 

[imperialipa]

I'm not sure I see the problem... If your yeast were compromised or dead from it being too hot during shipping you would not get that low of a FG...

Did you have your wort fermenting too hot?

If you brewed a beer and lets say its OG was 1.050 and if fermented down to 1.004 your in good shape.

Or do you mean your FG was 1.040? If thats the case then yes there could be a problem with the yeast.....

Fermentation times will vary. I have had some beers done with visible activity in a few days and some bubbled along for weeks.

The real indicator is what your OG was and your FG to see what your attenuation was.

 

[passedpawn]

So, am I wrong to be perturbed at Austin Homebrew enough not to use them anymore,

yes...

or am I just a noob

... and yes. Everyone starts there. No worries.

 

[smalliewader]

I love when I get FG's down in the 1.004 range. That's damn good yeast at work and a nice, clean tasting final product. And yeah, you gotta request an ice pack for an additional buck or so.

 

[Homercidal]

Honestly, an FG of 1.004 is not bad for a lot of styles, and certainly not a sign of dead or damaged yeast. It's just that some yeast work better then others and bring the gravity down more (attenuation).

What was the OG and what was the strain of yeast used? What temp did you ferment at? A kolsch should normally be fermented at the low end of the yeast's optimum range. I am not very familiar with liquid kolsch strains, but some yeast do put out a pretty significant amount of sulfur smells before they clean up after themselves.

Let it sit a week or so and take a taste. If it's not nasty, you're probably fine. (although there are a myriad of other things that could have gone wrong too...)